With an international net closing in on the trade in threatened species of aquatic life, countries in Asia and the Pacific are working to implement tools that will offer a balance of protection while ensuring trade in seafood is not adversely affected, an FAO convened meeting has concluded.

Sharks and their relatives – the batoids and chimaeras – comprise the chondrichthyan fishes, a group of more than 1 100 species, of which more than 400 are sharks. Sharks are harvested primarily for their meat, fins, skin, cartilage and liver. Shark meat is an important component of the diet in many developing countries. The meat of some species is also highly valued in some developed countries. The value of world trade in shark commodities approaches USD 1 billion per year.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is working with its member countries to help them protect their seafood sectors while at the same time complying with CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). CITES is an international agreement between governments that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. In 2013, a number of shark and ray species received protection and more species will be assessed for inclusion to the list later this year.

FAO has just wrapped up a meeting to study the impact of the existing protections on the seafood sector in Asia and the Pacific and how well they are complying with CITES listings. The meeting attracted fisheries experts from Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. They were joined by participants from the CITES Secretariat and the University of Massachusetts (USA).

“FAO is working with member countries and partners by developing tools to improve the management of fisheries and protection of endangered species and these have been well received,” said Kim Friedman, FAO Senior Fisheries Resources Officer. “This meeting went a considerable way to evaluate how well countries are coping with new CITES requirements since the protection listings came into force in 2014.”

The CITES listings can affect seafood exports as they require elevated levels of management responsibility for countries to ensure exports are sourced in a way that does not further threaten endangered stocks. This fishery management situation is further complicated in the case of sharks and rays, as catches often occur incidentally, as by-catch, when fishers are targeting other fish stocks.

“It’s only by being able to view the full ‘seascape’ of change in shark fisheries, that we can continue to provide effective adaptive management to support productive and sustainable fisheries,” said Friedman.

“The ‘fisheries framework’ FAO is developing with assistance from its member countries offers opportunities for delivering greater understanding of management beyond just sharks and rays, as it brings together the key human and environmental factors needed for long-term sustainable change.”

The participants at this meeting analysed areas of greatest success in CITES compliance and implementation as regards fisheries management as well as areas where there are unforeseen impacts and concerns.

Improved governance stood out as an area where there had been major improvement while the participants agreed that capacity to collect sound data (e.g. identifying individual species) and capacity for analysing this information and sharing results needs further improvement. Further assistance is also needed to better monitor market chains of shark and ray products, which includes a range of fresh and dried products, including shark fins.

Photo: Gray Reef Shark, NOAA - Paula Ayotte